Antis Township has received a $245,000 grant from the state to make improvements at Bellwood-Antis Community Park, including to the pavilions and playground areas. Mirror photo by William Kibler

Antis Township has received a $245,000 grant from the state to make improvements at Bellwood-Antis Community Park.

The Greenways Trail and Recreational Program grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development will pay for replacement of a playground unit, renovation of the park pavilion, replacement of park benches and new pet waste stations, along with waste and recycling bins and signs, said Antis Township Manager Doug Brown.

The grant requires a 15% match, which the township will provide in cash, labor and equipment use for the $287,000 project.

The improvements comply with provisions in the five-year plan for the park, Brown said.

The centerpiece of the project is replacement of the playground unit, which is more than 20 years old and at the end of its useful life, Brown said.

The township has been getting frequent complaints about broken components and other inadequacies on the current unit, Brown said.

It’s not certain what the township will do with it when the new one is installed, he said.

A potential replacement includes two kinds of slides, stairs, ladders, climbing rings and a climbing pole equipped with steps, along with stair landings and bridge structures.

The pavilion renovations will include the addition of soffit and fascia and a ceiling.

The work will help prevent bees from nesting in the pavilion and mitigate the effects of vandalism that mars the current structure, Brown said.

The current wooden picnic tables have been deteriorating from age, weather and vandalism, and some have already gone to the scrap heap, he added.

The township hopes to get a large portion of the work done this year, though it will need to check out deadlines for spending the grant money, pick out the play structure, picnic tables and other equipment, then submit orders, Brown said.

The play structure and pavilion renovations may need to be bid out.

The work will “make the park last longer and look better,” Brown said.

The DCED’s Commonwealth Financing Authority is the source of the grant money, according to a news release from state Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg.

The grant program pays for projects related to planning, acquisition, development, repair and rehabilitation of greenways, recreational trails and parks, according to the news release.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.